Dr Andy Pearce will take over as Director of the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education on 10 February 2025 it has been announced.
Outgoing Director, Professor Stuart Foster, will continue to work closely with Dr Pearce during a period of transition and will remain centrally involved in the Centre’s leadership structure in the foreseeable future.
The world-leading Centre has been led by Professor Foster since its inception in 2008 and in that time more than 30,000 teachers have participated in its outstanding research-informed CPD. It has also developed a transformational national network of more than 240 Beacon Schools. The Centre is now recognised around the globe as a truly innovative centre of excellence and a pioneer of evidence-informed Holocaust education.
Dr Pearce said: ‘It is a great honour to be entrusted with this responsibility. Since 2008, the Centre has been at the forefront of teaching and learning about the Holocaust, nationally and internationally, and Stuart has been absolutely integral to its successes and achievements.
‘It is thanks to his tireless commitment to improving the quality of young people’s education through research-informed professional development, that the Centre stands today as the best placed institution to lead the field in the decades ahead. I thus pay heartfelt tribute to Professor Foster and look forward to working with my colleagues as we continue to transform teaching and learning about the Holocaust.’
In stepping down as Director of the Centre, Professor Foster remarked: ‘It has been an incredible privilege to have served as Director. Over the past 17 years our team of outstanding colleagues has produced a series of large-scale national studies which have significantly informed our understanding of teaching and learning and helped to dramatically improve Holocaust education, nationally and internationally. I’m also incredibly proud that more than 30,000 teachers in schools across the country have benefitted from the Centre’s research-informed programme of professional development.
‘For the past 13 years, Andy has played a critical role in the development of our internationally respected educational programme. He has contributed to all aspects of the Centre’s work including teaching, research, and scholarship. In recent years, as Deputy Director, he has also been centrally involved in the strategic leadership of the Centre, and it has been a pleasure to work in close partnership with him. Undoubtedly, Andy will continue to build on our established foundations and provide outstanding leadership for the Centre in the future.’
Sir Trevor Pears, the Executive Chair of the Pears Foundation, which has jointly funded the Centre in partnership with the Department for Education since its inception, added: ‘Stuart’s contribution to the field of Holocaust education cannot be overstated. He has led the Centre in its world-leading work since and contributed personally to its ground-breaking research studies.
‘We are delighted that he is passing the baton to Andy, another leading expert in the field, and we look forward to working with him to take forward the Centre’s work with teachers and schools up and down the country.’
Professor Arthur Chapman, Head of the Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in which the Centre is based, commented: ‘Our Centre for Holocaust Education has made a stellar contribution to the IOE, to the university and to education nationally and internationally, since Stuart founded it in 2008.
‘The Centre has had a tremendous impact on Holocaust Education, on young people and on teachers and teacher trainers over the last 17 years, driven by the vision of research-based continuous professional development that Professor Foster has developed with his team. I know that Andy is committed to this vision, and I have every confidence that the Centre will continue to flourish and grow under Dr Pearce’s leadership. Dr Pearce is an influential scholar in the field, and he has done sterling work in his role as Deputy Director of the Centre.’
